Could Global Point finally be open for business?

The 147-acre business park at Corr’s Corner - thought to be Invest NI’s single largest industrial development location in Northern Ireland - has been lying empty since it opened in 2000, despite millions of pounds of government investment in roads and other infrastructure.

However, following the appearance of heavy machinery and construction workers on-site in recent days, rumours are rife that preparations are being made for the business park’s first tenant.

Last month Planning Service granted approval for an “industrial portal framed building containing production areas with ancillary office and plant space for precision engineering manufacturing along with a service yard, car parking and landscaping” at “Site 3 Global Point Business Park.”

While Invest NI stressed that it doesn’t comment on speculation, the Times understands that the business development agency has been in talks with a world-leading electronics firm currently based in another part of Northern Ireland about the possibility of relocating to a new purpose-built facility at Global Point.

Declining to comment on the work that is going on, or whether or not a tenant has been secured for the site, a spokesperson for Invest NI said: “If and when there are any updates on Global Point we will communicate them appropriately.”

Following a meeting with Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton earlier this year, South Antrim DUP politician William McCrea said it was “imperative to see businesses begin to invest in Global Point, thereby providing much needed employment opportunities for local people.”